What are open-jaw flights and how do they save money?

An open-jaw flight means flying into one city and out of another — for example, NYC to Lisbon, then Budapest to NYC. This saved over $200 compared to round-tripping to the same airport on a real 30-day Europe trip that cost $412 total for transatlantic flights. It also eliminates wasted travel time backtracking to your arrival city.

Scott Webb

Discovery

Cheap Flights from Toronto — Canada's International Launch Pad

Bryan MendezDec 20256 min read

Air Transat from Toronto Pearson to Lisbon for $520 CAD. That is roughly $380 USD at current exchange rates. For a transatlantic flight. From Canada. Most Americans do not realize that Toronto is often cheaper to Europe than flying from the US Northeast — especially on Air Transat, which Canadian travelers seem weirdly reluctant to recommend despite it being the best-value transatlantic carrier operating out of Pearson.

Toronto is Canada's largest international hub with fierce competition from budget carriers, charter airlines, and the Gulf carriers. If you are Canadian or live near the border, this is your launch pad. If you are American and Buffalo is closer than JFK, this might be yours too.

Three Airports, One That Matters

YYZ (Toronto Pearson) — Everything runs through here. Air Canada hub, but also Air Transat, WestJet, LOT, Icelandair, TAP, Emirates, PLAY. UP Express to downtown costs $12.35 CAD and takes 25 minutes.

YHM (Hamilton) — 70 km from Toronto. Ultra-low-cost carriers when they are operating. Worth checking for budget sun destinations.

YTZ (Billy Bishop Toronto City) — Porter Airlines hub. Domestic and some US destinations. Limited international use, but the downtown location is convenient.

Air Transat from YYZ is where the action is. Do not overlook them because they are a charter carrier — they are consistently the cheapest for many European routes.

Toronto to Europe — Air Transat Is the Cheat Code

Toronto's strongest market. Competition between Air Transat, WestJet, Air Canada, and the Icelandic carriers keeps prices honest.

What You Should Expect to Pay (Round-Trip, CAD)

Jan-Mar: $500-750 — $550-650
Apr-Jun: $650-950 — $700-850
Jul-Aug: $800-1200 — $900-1100
Sep-Nov: $500-800 — $580-700

The Airlines Worth Knowing

Air Transat — Canadian leisure carrier that flies YYZ to London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon, and more. Often $200-300 CAD cheaper than Air Canada. Seasonal routes to Greece, Croatia, Portugal. This is the airline budget travelers should be booking.

WestJet — Growing European network. London, Dublin, Paris, Barcelona. Canadian service standards at reasonable prices.

Icelandair — YYZ to Reykjavik. Free Iceland stopover for up to 7 days. Good connections to Scandinavia and the UK.

TAP Portugal — Via Lisbon to all of Europe. Portugal stopover program. Often cheapest to Western Europe when you factor in the free Lisbon time.

LOT Polish — YYZ to Warsaw. Excellent Eastern Europe gateway. Competitive pricing, and Warsaw connects cheaply to everywhere via Wizz Air and Ryanair.

PLAY — Budget Icelandic carrier. Ultra-low-cost to Reykjavik. Bare-bones but the prices justify the lack of frills.

Gateway Strategy

Lisbon: $500-750 — Portugal, Spain, Morocco
Reykjavik: $450-650 — Iceland, Scandinavia
London: $550-800 — UK, Western Europe
Warsaw: $550-800 — Eastern Europe, Balkans
Dublin: $500-750 — Ireland, UK
Paris: $550-850 — France, connections

Sample Itineraries

Classic Europe (3 weeks) — YYZ to London ($600 CAD on Air Transat). Train to Paris, bus to Barcelona, fly to Rome. Return from London. Total flights around $750 CAD.

Eastern Europe Budget (3 weeks) — YYZ to Warsaw ($580 CAD on LOT). Train to Krakow, bus to Prague, train to Budapest, Vienna. Return from Warsaw. Total flights around $700 CAD.

Iberian Peninsula (2 weeks) — YYZ to Lisbon ($520 CAD on TAP). Porto, Madrid, Barcelona. Return from Lisbon. Total flights around $650 CAD.

Nordic + Iceland (2 weeks) — YYZ to Reykjavik ($480 CAD). Three days in Iceland. Budget carrier to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo. Return via Reykjavik. Total flights around $700 CAD.

Toronto to Southeast Asia — Route Through the Gulf

What You Should Expect to Pay (Round-Trip, CAD)

Jan-Apr: $900-1300 — $1000-1150
May-Sep: $850-1200 — $950-1100
Oct-Dec: $950-1400 — $1050-1250

How to Route It

Via Middle East — Emirates direct from YYZ to Dubai, Qatar direct to Doha. Often $900-1100 CAD to Bangkok or Singapore. Usually the best value for the distance.

Via Europe — Fly Air Transat or TAP to Europe, then Scoot or AirAsia X to Asia. Two tickets sometimes cheaper than one through-fare.

Via Hong Kong — Cathay Pacific YYZ to HKG. Premium carrier but excellent SEA connections from their hub.

Sample Itineraries

SEA Classic (5 weeks) — YYZ to Bangkok via Dubai ($1050 CAD on Emirates). Cambodia, Vietnam, more Thailand. Return via Dubai. Total flights around $1200 CAD.

Premium SEA (4 weeks) — YYZ to Hong Kong ($1100 CAD on Cathay Pacific). Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore. Return from Hong Kong. Total flights around $1400 CAD.

Toronto to Latin America — Caribbean Is King

Strong Caribbean presence from Canadian charter carriers. South America options are decent via connections.

What You Should Expect to Pay (Round-Trip, CAD)

Caribbean: $400-700 — Nov-Apr
Mexico: $450-750 — Nov-Apr
Central America: $550-850 — Jan-Apr, Sep-Nov
Colombia: $600-900 — Any
Peru/Southern SA: $900-1300 — Mar-Nov

Airlines That Work

Air Transat / Sunwing — Charter carriers to sun destinations — Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica. Package deals sometimes beat flight-only pricing, weirdly.

WestJet / Air Canada — Scheduled service with more flexibility.

Avianca — Via Bogota to South America. Growing Toronto presence.

Copa — Via Panama City. Best South America network.

Sample Itineraries

Caribbean Winter Escape (2 weeks) — YYZ to Havana ($450 CAD). Two weeks exploring Cuba. Total flights around $450 CAD.

Mexico + Central America (4 weeks) — YYZ to Cancun ($480 CAD). Yucatan, overland to Guatemala, Honduras. Return from Cancun. Total flights around $650 CAD.

South America (6 weeks) — YYZ to Bogota ($650 CAD on Avianca). Medellin, overland to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia. Return from Bogota. Total flights around $1000 CAD.

Toronto-Specific Moves

Air Transat, seriously — Do not let charter carrier stigma stop you. They are consistently cheapest for many European routes. The service is fine. The price is the point.

Winter sun packages — Sunwing and Transat offer all-inclusive packages to the Caribbean that are sometimes cheaper than booking the flight alone. Worth pricing out.

The Buffalo arbitrage — Buffalo airport (BUF) is 90 minutes from Toronto. Sometimes US carriers offer significantly cheaper fares. Cross the border, save money.

Nexus card — If you cross the US-Canada border frequently, Nexus pays for itself quickly. Also speeds up Canadian domestic security.

YYZ layovers — Pearson is massive. International to domestic connections need 2+ hours minimum. Do not cut it close.